Configuration

Most NeMo Relay runtime behavior is configured through API objects and registration calls rather than a global configuration file. Process-wide operational logging also supports environment variables and TOML configuration.

Core Runtime Setup

Most applications configure NeMo Relay by:

1. Creating or reusing a scope stack.
2. Registering guardrails, intercepts, or subscribers.
3. Calling the managed tool or LLM helpers from the active scope.
4. Deregistering global middleware that should not remain active for the lifetime of the process.

Use scope-local registration when behavior must be tied to one request, session, or agent run.

For process-wide stderr and file logging, refer to Operational Logging.

Plugin Setup

Plugins use a structured plugin configuration with:

• A version
• One or more component definitions
• Optional component policy

Start with Language Binding Plugins when you need reusable middleware, subscribers, or adaptive behavior.

Use NeMo Guardrails Configuration when you want the built-in first-party nemo_guardrails component.

The nemo-relay CLI gateway reads plugin files named plugins.toml. Refer to Plugin Configuration Files for file locations, precedence, merge behavior, editor controls, and validation rules.

Observability Setup

Agent Trajectory Observability Format (ATOF) exporters, Agent Trajectory Interchange Format (ATIF) exporters, and typed OpenTelemetry subscribers can be configured directly through binding-native config objects. Select the full, gen_ai, or openinference projection when constructing each OpenTelemetry subscriber. Use the built-in observability plugin when you want one plugin component to own standard exporter setup and teardown. Refer to Observability Configuration and Observability for the supported export paths.

Outside operational logging, NeMo Relay does not require application-level environment variables for normal runtime use. Configure most behavior through API objects, registration calls, or plugin configuration.

Every OpenTelemetry config requires an explicit nonblank endpoint. For plugin configuration, use an endpoint’s header_env map when a header value must come from an environment variable. Keep endpoint addresses and other export settings explicit so the active configuration remains visible in docs, tests, and deployment manifests.

Adaptive Setup

Adaptive tuning is enabled through the adaptive plugin component and binding helper APIs. Refer to Adaptive Configuration.